Missing
by Deceptively Sane
Summary: Duncan moves in across the street from Courtney, the weird girl at school. No one will tell him why everyone avoids her, so he tries to figure it out himself. Courtney OOC
1. Missing

This is my first story, so at least try to be nice. This is probably hard to follow or whatever, so I'll try to explain. Courtney's mom was a part of the mob in New York until she met Courtney's dad. When she got pregnant and had Courtney, she tried to leave. While she was still in the hospital, it was burned down and she was killed. So Courtney lived alone with her father until he got remarried. Duncan moves in across the street with his adoptive parents and brother, Max.

I don't own TDI. If I did, I wouldn't be putting my story on here.

Missing  
(DPOV)

_Slowly, quietly, I stepped into the dimly lit room. It was empty, save the piles of bones and still-rotting corpses, cold, and utterly lifeless. Although, in the very back corner, chained onto the wall, was a near-dead teenage girl who looked vaguely familiar. Hesitantly, I took another step into the chamber, sidestepping a pile of unmoving bodies in the process. The place reeked of ammonia and rotting flesh, but I ignored it. I was drawn to the familiar girl hanging on the wall. Maybe, if I was lucky, she would still be alive._

_Breathing through my nose didn't have any affect on the vomit inducing odor that made the air feel thick and heavy. I fought against the dizziness and nausea and trudged on, nearly tripping over a few detached limbs along the way._

_After what felt like an eternity of weaving between piles of dead people, I finally reached the brick wall at the back of the room. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the girl looked up at me. But when I saw her face, I was overcome with such strong emotion, I couldn't move._

_Her skin was ghost pale and covered in dirt. Cuts and scratches covered the vast majority of her face, and more likely than not, were all becoming infected from the dirt. Dark circles were visible under her eyes. The jeans she wore-- once a pale gray-- were now charcoal covered and torn. Blood was dried in circles around all the cuts and holes in the pants and her black, sleeveless shirt. Her bare arms were dripping with streams of the thick, red liquid oozing out of her wrists which were supporting all her weight, hanging by the two bloody chains._

_But, by far, the most frightening, disturbing thing about her was her eyes. Her once emotion-filled, innocent eyes were flat, black, and dead. As she gazed at me through those, empty, lifeless eyes, all I could do was stare back into them. My mind slowly began to fog and my vision clouded over. It wasn't until she looked away that I realized I hadn't been breathing._

_"Who did this to you?" I chocked the words out, barely capable of speaking. _

_Courtney just looked down and sighed. _

For the third day in a row, I woke up in a cold sweat. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is that face. It's been five days since she disappeared. We all knew something was going to happen. If only we would've known what was coming. Maybe we could've avoided this. Now all I can do is pray to God that these dreams aren't a reality.

A couple of months before this all started, Courtney started having nightmares where she was kidnapped and tortured... At first, neither of us thought much of it. Gradually, they stated to become longer, more detailed, and much more graphic. Her reoccurring nightmares became so realistic that no one could wake her up. She eventually started refusing to sleep and stayed up all night. As the days passed, her face turned a sickly, pale color. The dark circles under her eyes became more prominent against her paling skin.

Nearly everyday, at least one teacher would send her to the nurse's office, but she always refused to lie down. Eventually, they grew aggravated and called Courtney's parents. Things continued to snowball like that for the next month or so.

Then, she started disappearing every few days. Whenever I asked her why, she tell me, "I'm stressing everyone out. They deserve a break." As the days continued to pass by, she lost her appetite and, with that, the energy to function. After a month and a half had passed, she stopped coming out of her room, except at night. Soon after, her nightmare came to life and she disappeared.

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Thanks for reading... Sorry its so short. I have a life too you know. Well, not really. I blame school. Oh well. Anyway, review if you want. Let me know if you have questions.


	2. The New School

These next chapters will go back to before the first chapter took place. I'll say that now to save any confusion. Thanks again to the people that put this on story alert!

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own TDI, just the characters I made up and the plot of the story.

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The New School  
(DPOV)

I watched the trees pass by as Max drove us to our new house. For the past three hours, all I've seen has been trees. Plus that dead animal in the road. We spent 30 minutes arguing over whether it was a baby deer or an oversized hawk... That's the most fun we've had on this oh-so-exciting road trip. Seriously, what was wrong with where we were living before? So I might have been sent to juvie a few times and possibly got involved with a few gangs, but still!

I knew Max was just as excited to be moving to the United States –yes, we actually _left the country_-- as I was. But being the parent suck up he was, brought me with him anyway. They didn't tell me much, but I know Max is driving us somewhere in Nebraska to meet up with them.

"Dude! How much longer are we gonna be on this road?" In case you haven't noticed, I lost my patience around two hours ago. "And what is that smell?" The trees started to clear, and as far as the eye could see, cows were munching on dead grass.

"Welcome to Nebraska, Duncan," Max replied sarcastically. "It's the land of corn and cows." Right on cue, an endless sea of cornstalks appeared at the bottom of the hill Max was driving over. "Look on the bright side, dude, at least the cows are gone!" Now he was laughing at my misery. Great. "Don't worry. Just a few more hours and we'll be to our new place."

"If your parents think they can make me live on a _farm_, they've got a lot comin' their way!" I growled. "Like hell I'm living on a farm in the middle of nowhere!"

"You do realize there are actual towns here, don't you?" Max was watching me in the corner of his eye. "And there is a city or something called Nowhere. I don't remember if it's here though." He blew his blond bangs out of his eyes and went back to watching the road.

"Can't imagine how it got its name," I muttered sarcastically.

* * *

Just over three hours later, we finally arrived at our new house. It was in a town, just like Max had said. The city wasn't as crowded as New York, but it wasn't that empty. It was a relief to see houses everywhere instead of corn and cows, but Canada was still better.

I jumped out of the car to stretch me sore muscles and looked around. Paved streets, streetlights, lots of houses, big houses, hot girl across the street, moving truck in the driveway... Wait! I did a doubletake. Across the street, I saw the hottest girl I've ever laid my eyes on. And I've laid my eyes on a lot of girls.

She looked like she was around my age, 16, she had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a black long sleeved shirt that showed her shoulders and tight gray jeans with a studded belt. And she looked ticked! Her eyebrows were knotted together over her big, brown eyes. Her full lips set in an irritated scowl. When she caught my stare, she blushed and continued walking up the street.

I had to know her name. _I_ will_ find out_, I decided. Maybe this little town wasn't so bad after all...

I woke up to my radio playing Metallica full blast. Since my room was the one on the third floor, I never really had to turn it down anymore, another good thing about the move.

6:00am. Time to get ready for the first day at the new school. I didn't even know the name of the school yet. After I made sure my green mohawk looked presentable, I pulled on my baggy pants and a random band tshirt over my white long sleeved shirt.

_I wonder if that girl will be there?_

* * *

The name of the school was East High School. And it was _full_ of preps and jocks. There, I met Sam, Trent, and their girlfriends, Nicole and Gwen. They were pretty cool.

"Dude, you like her?" Trent snapped me out of my daze.

"Huh?" I looked away from the girl from yesterday.

"Courtney. You like her?" Sam nodded his head toward the girl I saw across the street yesterday.

"So that's her name! Yeah, I saw her yesterday when I got here," I replied. _Finally!_ "Who exactly is she?"

"Courtney's mom was a mob leader in New York until they all moved here. Her mom actually worked with my dad," Nicole grinned. "She's one of the best street fighters I've ever seen!"

My jaw dropped in shock. "Seriously? That's awesome!"

"You'd think so," Nicole rolled her eyes. "All the kids around here are scared of her though."

"Because she can fight or because of her mom?" I asked.

"Neither," Gwen said.

"Neither? Then what are they afraid of?" I questioned.

They looked at each other, then back at me. "Oh, look there's Mrs. Macowski!" Gwen stated with relief in her voice. Mrs. Macowski, the English teacher, entered the room and called the class to order. _Great. Now I have one answer and a million more questions._

Thanks for reading! Review if you want. I'll be spending the rest of my Saturday doing Geography, Chemistry, and Advanced Algebra homework. rolls eyes

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	3. New Neighbors

I just got done typing this, so if there are any mistakes oh well. This is the first chapter from Courtney's point of view. I'll probably put some chapters in Trent, Sam, Gwen, and Nicole's point of view, but I haven't thougt ahead very far.

New Neighbors  
(CPOV)

"I'm going for a walk!" I yelled behind me as I walked toward the door.

"No! You can't! It's going to be dark soon!" After my mom died, my dad married Pamela. Pamela is an obnoxious, irrationally overprotective wanna be soccer mom. Too bad I'm her only kid. Well, not really. She tries to act like my mom, but I pretty much ignore her.

"I wasn't asking for permission, Pam," I called back, halfway out the door.

"What if someone attacks you? It'll be dark soon!" She grabbed my arm.

"Yeah, in, like, two hours. I can take care of myself. Besides, anyone that knows who I am wouldn't bother trying to jump me anyway," I retorted. After brushing her hand off my arm, I stepped outside.

"Courtney! You are _so_ grounded!" I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. My dad didn't mind when I went on walks. Honestly, what did he see in her? My real mom was awesome. She taught me how to fight and gave me my first pocket knife. In retrospect, she didn't really have much of a choice, but whatever. The daughter of a mob leader was a huge target if she couldn't protect herself.

Wanting me to have a somewhat normal life, she tried to quit the mob life when I turned 11. That landed her in the hospital. A few days into her stay, the entire hospital was burned down... I can't _imagine_ who was responsible for that.

Knowing that we weren't safe, my dad moved us to Omaha, Nebraska. Around that same time, my friend Nicole's parents quit the mob too. They lived to talk about it though, and joined us in Nebraska.

I was ripped out of my thoughts when I saw a moving van drive past me, up the street. Curious, I doubled back and followed it. My curiosity doubled when the truck turned onto my street. No one had moved in since Nicole did four and a half years ago. Unless you count the mob guys that stalked us here a while back. They tried to kidnap Nicole's younger sister Emi two years ago. She and her boyfriend Sam took care of them though. _If more of them came, I'll-_

My thought stopped short when I caught the gaze of a teenager with a green mohawk. _Okay. So maybe they didn't come back. That's good._ I could feel a blush creeping across my face as I continued my walk. _And maybe a hot guy with a green mohawk moved in just up the street. That's nice._

* * *

I groaned as I walked up my driveway and saw Pamela's face pressed up against one of the windows in the living room. She followed me down the hallway, up the steps, around the corner, and up to my door.

"Courtney, I told you not to go outside! What if you were attacked by a hoodlum? What then?" she cried.

"Pamela," I spoke slowly, just to irritate her. "These 'hoodlums' you are referring to just happen to be very nice people." That was true, actually. I used to hang out with them every night until around a year ago.

And why did she have to pronounce it like that? Instead of "hoodlum" she'd say it like "who duh lim." Talk about annoying.

"Those _who-duh-lims_ are are not nice! They're frightening! Those boys have piercings and saggy pants and some wear_ makeup_! The girls wear tight, black clothes with skulls and _way_ too much eyeliner."

I looked at her like she was missing something obvious, and eventually gave up. Then an idea came to me. "Speaking of _who-duh-lims,_" I pronounced it the way she did to see if she would notice... nope. "We've got some new neighbors up the street. And one of them has a green mohawk!"

While she was distracted, I slipped into my room and locked the door. After a few minutes, I heard her say, "Wait... WHAT?" Grinning at my victory, I blasted some Rise Against on my stereo and did some last minute homework... Shut up! I want to graduate!

* * *

The following morning in English class, I heard Nicole, Sam, Trent, Gwen, and the new guy talking about me. I turned my iPod down so I could hear them better.

"Courtney's mom was a mob leader in New York until they all moved here. Her mom actually worked with my dad. She's one of the best street fighters I've ever seen!" Leave it to Nicloe to make that sound like a good thing...

"Seriously? That's awesome!" My eyebrows rose when I heard the new guy's response.

"You'd think so," I could practically hear Nicole roll her eyes. "All the kids around here are scared of her though."

"Because she can fight or because of her mom?" the new kid asked wondered.

"Neither," Gwen said.

"Neither? Then what are they afraid of?" he questioned. I scowled at the whiteboard at the front of the room. A minute or two later, the teacher walked in and class began. _I wonder what he'd think if he knew?_ A voice in my head wondered. _So do I_, I thought back.

* * *

Thanks to F/R for the hilarious 'flame'! If you want to read it, go up to the reviews thing at the top. Review if you want. Oh yeah... I don't own TDI. Obviously. Happy Sunday!


	4. Forest Adventure

Finally! I actually wrote a chapter with more than 1,000 words! I took forever though. Oh well. I don't own Total Drama Island.

Forest Adventure  
(DPOV)

I stifled a gasp as I shot up in bed. The sunlight streaming through my window burned my eyes as I fought back the memories that my reoccurring nightmare always brought back. Unwanted images of the bloodbath in my living room from five years ago flooded back into my mind.

"_Alison?" I choked out. "Where are you?" I ripped my eyes away from the limp bodies that, at one point, had belonged to my parents. _Where is she?

_Cautiously, I stepped over the bloody corpses and into the kitchen. A trail of thick, red fluid trailed toward the stairs, weaving around the fallen table and chairs. With closer inspection, I realized the trail wasn't just blood. It had dirt, hair, and several small footprints._

_I followed the trail out the back door, around the side of the house and across the street. There, sitting on a swing, was Alison. The trail stopped right below her. I felt my stomach drop and sprinted across the street to the swing set._

_Alison's head hung with her chin resting on her chest. Her black hair was matted with dried blood, covering her face. Her small frame leaned against the chain, keeping her balanced. The once white dress she wore was splattered with dried mud and blood, matching her ruined shoes. Shakily, she brought her head up and looked me in the eye. Her cold blue eyes were filled with horror, shock and fear. Emotions a six year old should know nothing about._

A few day after that dream had taken place, Alison had disappeared. I still don't know where she is. Or if she's alive.

* * *

After forcing my butt out of bed, I decided to look for something to eat. I still had an hour before I had to leave. Nicole and Sam are taking me, Trent and Gwen to their _forest_. Yeah. We'll be spending the day climbing trees, bird watching, and stalking squirrels... Okay, so I don't really know what we will be doing. But seriously, what is there to do in a forest besides camp? _Guess I'll find out._

On the way down the stairs, I ran into Max.

"Dude! I haven't seen you in a week! What have you been doing?" Max knew I had friends here, but didn't know anything about them. His face showed his blatant curiosity.

"Not much. Turns out my new friends have parents that used to be in the mob in New York." I waited patiently for it to sink in.

For a couple of minutes, he just stood there with a blank look plastered on his face. My amusement died down pretty quickly, and I started to get bored. I waved my hand in front of his face and he finally snapped out of it.

"A _mob_?" he repeated, stunned. "Your friends have parents that are a part of the _mob_?" _Oops. I guess it was only Nicole's parents that were in the mob. Oh well. Ah! There it is!_ I felt my amusement return as Max's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"They aren't _now_," I retaliated. "They left."

"Just like that?" He seemed surprised. "I thought once you joined, you couldn't quit."

"I guess that's why they moved here." I just shrugged.

"Okay. So have they been doing anything moblike? You know, smuggling drugs, arson, things of that nature." Now he looked kind of suspicious. _He's probably wondering if _I'm_ doing any of those things. Whatever._

"Surprisingly, no." It was surprising. Those four were probably the nicest, least criminal people I've ever met. You'd never guess by looking at them, but it's true. "Now that you mention it, I'm going with them to a forest in about an hour. They're probably planning something." Sarcasm dripped from every word. I rolled my eyes. _Like they would ever do that._

"A forest? What are you going to do in a forest?"

"Bro, if I knew, I'd tell ya," I said. "I should get ready. Ask me about it later," I called over my shoulder as I headed to my room.

* * *

I had just finished getting ready when I heard my cellphone vibrate on my bed.

Ready for a forest adventure?

-Cole

I texted Nicole back as I walked toward the front door.

yeah. where do u liv?

-Duncan

My phone buzzed almost exactly when I pressed the send key.

A block over, 3rd house to the right. :)

-Cole

I snapped my phone shut and walked down the street. My mind wandered until something, or rather _someone_, caught my eye. That girl Courtney was walking down the street, walking the same direction I was headed.

Of course I was curious, so I followed her around the corner, not really caring if she saw me or not. She continued up the street and turned into the driveway of the third house on the right. _Wait! Why does that seem so weird?_ I pulled out my cell and flipped it open.

A block over, 3rd house to the right. :)

-Cole

_Dude! No way! _I walked up to the house and hesitantly knocked on the door. Nicole opened the with a wide grin. "I take it you know Courtney's here?"

"I guessed as much when I saw her walk in the door," I retorted. She just shrugged and moved aside so I could walk inside.

* * *

"I haven't been out in forever!" Nicole threw her arms in the air dramatically, breaking the awkward silence. "I thought I was gonna get fat from lack of exercise." She visibly cringed and everyone started laughing. Even Courtney. "What? It could happen!"

"No, it couldn't. Not for you, anyway," Sam smiled at her as she squeezed his guts out.

"Aw! You're so sweet, you big suckup!" That just brought on another round of laughter. "Did you want to drive or something?"

"That's probably not a horrible idea. Remember the last time?" His face turned a few shades paler, which didn't even seem possible. The kid's ghost pale. "Hey, are we taking Emi?"

Practically on cue, a pale little girl with reddish brown hair and bright green eyes peeked from around the corner. "Hi Emi! Wanna go to the forest with us?" She squeezed in between Sam and Nicole on the couch.

That's when I noticed it. She looked _exactly like them._ _Both_ of them. She had the same long, reddish brown hair as Nicole and the same green eyes Sam had. All three of them had the same pale skin. _So either Sam's going out with his sister, or he knocked her up. Wow._

My speechlessness was interrupted by snickering. I turned to the right to see Courtney laughing at me! "What?"

"You're thinking that Emi is their kid, aren't you? That or they're doing some weird incest thing, right? " She was smiling at me like I was the dumbest person on earth.

"Well... I... But... She looks just like them!" I was tripping all over my words. _Ugh! She probably thinks I'm such an idiot!_

"Don't worry. You're not the first one to think that. Come to think of it, you are the first one not to ask!" Gwen and Trent were roaring with laughter. I glanced over to the chairs they were sitting in to see what they were laughing at. Trent pointed to the couch Sam, Emi and Nicole were sitting on.

Sam was slouched down with his hood over his head, and Nicole was hiding behind her hair. Both of their faces were blood red. Innocent little Emi was sitting there trying to figure out what was going on. "Poor Emi. She's always in the dark." Courtney slowly shook her head in false sadness.

"How old is she?" _There's no way she could be any older than two or three years old. _

"Two," Courtney said. She was watching Emi pull on Sam's hoodie to get him to sit back up. "She's really smart. Did you know she can already read and write?"

"Seriously? Who taught her?" Alison had just started learning to do that stuff before our parents were killed. And she was six.

"When she stopped talking, Sam and Nicole taught her." She had a weird look on her face when she said it. Why did she stop talking?

"Hey, guys we should get going," Nicole said as she stood up with Emi on her back. Looks like it's time for our "forest adventure."

Well, I had an interesting week. I went to karate as usual Monday. Then on Tuesday I got a crapload of homework, so I was in a _really_ bad mood. My brother was being obnoxious and I lost my temper ang kicked him _really, really hard_. In doing so, I broke my toe (Hey! That rhymed!) and my 12 year old brother balled his eyes out because _he_ got hurt and _I_ got in trouble. What the hell?

At first, I thought it was sprained, so I just taped it and continued on with my life. But after school on Wednesday it turned _purple!_ Oo So yeah. No running in gym for the next two weeks. I'm thanking God for my _freakishly_ high pain tolerance right now. I'd be _so_ dead without it. Thanks, God!


	5. Jack the Ripper

**I am SO sorry I haven't updated! I think my teachers somehow realized I had enough time to write a story and decided to fill it with projects... I'm putting off my English as we speak... Oh well. What's another all-nighter? R&R.**

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Jack the Ripper  
EPOV

The car pulled to a stop at the end of the road in the middle of a dense forest. I picked up my notebook and scribbled a question:

Jack?

I tossed the note over the passenger seat. It bounced off Cole's head and landed in her lap. She scooped up the paper and smoothed it out between her fingers.

Cole spun around and grinned. "Of course we're visiting Jack! And Scott. And Kyle. And Jordan. And Greg!"

I wrote another note:

Izzy and Owen?

She shook her head. "Nope. They're still doing time. The nuts highjacked a car and drove it off the top of a building! I'll meet up with them later; wanna come?" She picked up my next note.

Ok. Doing time? 

"Jail time. The place is filled to the brim with psychos. Still want to go?" She tilted her head to the side and measured my expression, looking for an answer; I nodded. "Excellent!" Cole gets excited _so easily..._ She turned to Sam. "Shall we?" she asked, referring to the tall trees towering around us.

He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced into the rear view mirror. "I guess. You think they can handle themselves?" Sam gestured into the mirror.

"Not at all. But if little Emi-" she smiled back at me through the mirror, "doesn't mind too much, I'd like to think Mr. Hardened Criminal won't either." Her sarcasm made Sam laugh, despite himself.

"Well, we'll just see about that. And the others?"

"Beats me." They both looked through the windshield, deep into the trees.

"They're all ready. Mind if I run ahead?" Cole nodded toward the forest and unbuckled her seatbelt. Her dark eyes were shining with pent up excitement.

"Go ahead. Just don't get them_ too_ wound up please..." By the look on his face, I could tell he was speaking from experience.

To get Cole's attention, I kicked the back of her seat. _Me too! Me too!_ I bounced up and down to make my point.

"Looks like Emi's coming with me. See you in a few minutes!" She unzipped her jacket and dropped it onto her seat, scooped me up, and threw open her car door. By the time the door closed completely, the car was out of view and Cole was weaving stealthily between the towering trees full sprint toward the darkest part of the forest.

* * *

TPOV

After nearly an hour of driving, I was dead bored. Not even the radio could keep me entertained. "Hey, Gwen?" She looked up from her sketchbook to see what I wanted. "Do you have any idea where they're taking us?"

"I have no idea. They said something about a forest, didn't they? Cour-!" As she turned in her seat to ask, her jaw dropped. I was about to question her on what she saw when my eyes caught something in the mirror.

My eyes nearly propelled out of my head when I saw Courtney and Duncan cuddled together in the backseat, completely asleep. "Uh... Nice to see that they're getting along so well... ?" _Courtney has never cuddled _anything! _Let alone a _person! _No wonder Gwen was so shocked..._

I redirected my attention to the road just in time to catch sight of a huge forest stretching along the horizon just over the next hill. "Dude! Gwen! Look at _that!_" I pointed toward the endless sea of trees now below us.

"How have we _not_ noticed that?" Gwen mumbled, astonished. At the bottom of the hill, Sam's car slowed, then disappeared in the sea of green and brown.

* * *

**Sorry it's so short! It's 7:30 and I still have a ton to do! If you know who Jack the Ripper is, this probably seems like an even worse cliffhanger... Sorry. You've read, so now you just have to review. Thanks for the favorites and alerts and stuff. I'll update when I get the chance. Later!**


	6. Dead Guy on the Couch

**Sorry it took so long for me to update! I don't own TDI.**

**Dead Guy on the Couch**

**(Courtney POV)**

Trent's car pulled to a stop behind Sam and Nicole. After a few minutes of waiting, I grabbed my cellphone. Just before I flipped it open, I caught Duncan staring wide eyed straight through the windshield. I followed his gaze to the now-empty car parked a few feet away.

_What the heck? How long did I look away?_ Nicole and Emi were nowhere to be seen and Sam was strolling casually up to Trent's open window.

He stiffly nodded his head toward a trail weaving between the thick trees. With closer inspection, the "trail" looked more like a worn down path. Obviously, we weren't the only people to venture through here... Everyone got out and followed him into the deep, dense woods.

After ten minutes of walking in an awkward silence, Sam stopped and turned toward us. "Uh... How do I put this?" He had a nervous, yet thoughtful expression on his face. His arms were crossed across his chest and he was gazing carefully around us as if waiting for something. "Well, let's just say that we are going to encounter some very... _interesting_," _Why did that sound like a question?_ "People."

"I wouldn't call them _insane_, per se," Gwen and Trent shared a look and Duncan's eyebrows rose. "But they are a bit... off."

"Off what?" A dark haired teenager jumped seemingly out of nowhere and landed just inches in front of Sam, who had fallen over from shock. He turned and gave the rest of us a wide chesire cat grin. His dark eyes were sparkling with mischief and excitement. Covering half his face were bleached blond bangs. "Aw, Sammy made some friends! Well? Are you going to introduce me or not?"

Duncan snorted. "Yeah, _Sammy_ please introduce us." I just rolled my eyes.

Sam slowly rose and brushed the dirt off his pants. "Fine. Guys, this is Jack. He's one of the nuts I mentioned earlier." He scowled at Jack who was grinning from ear to ear. "Jack, this is Gwen, Trent, Courtney and Duncan," he gestured to each of us stiffly. "Are you the welcoming committee?"

"But of course, Sammy!" He threw an arm over Sam's shoulders. "I can't have the kiddies getting lost on their very first visit!" Jack winked at me, then smirked at Duncan.

"Now if you'll follow _us_." He began walking off the path, never taking his arm off Sam's tense shoulders. "We'll lead you to the others."

After ten minutes of stumbling through the complete darkness of the dense forest-- how they knew where they were going is beyond me-- the trees began to clear. Jack's silhouette spun on its heel, forcing Sam to turn with him.

"Welcome to Shadowhaven Manor!"

"Home to some of the biggest whackjobs you'll ever meet," Sam finished.

I could practically hear Duncan grin as we watched Sam shove away from Jack and turn toward the clearing. That was the first time I'd ever seen Sam irritated... Ever. Jack laughed it off and followed him into the light.

In the middle of the clearing was an old house. It looked like it was from the early 1900s. White paint was chipping off, brown-black bricks showing under the paint. The trim around the cracked door and dirt clouded windows was once a pale sky blue. A porch wrapped around the entire ground level-- or what I could see of it. Dead, brown rose bushes lined the patio around the house.

**-Inside-**

**(Sam's POV)**

I felt myself relax the second I walked into the house and saw Cole leaning against the wall talking to the couch... Wait... I stalked further into the room and saw Jack's twin sprawled out on the couch. He had definitely seen better days.

His eyes were red and swollen and the eyeliner around his eyes didn't make the dark circles under his eyes any lighter. His pitch-black hair made his already pale skin look even more ghostly. He was so out of it he didn't even seem to notice the fact that Emi was lying on his chest.

My thoughts came to an abrupt stop when Emi's head shot up, turning in my direction. Her eyes were as wide as her grin... Oh, that's right... I forgot Jack followed me in here.

Emi leaped off Kyle's chest-- her light curls bouncing around her as she did-- and tackled Jack to the floor. She's much stronger than people give her credit for. Jack's eerie, cackling laugh echoed throughout the house, jerking Kyle awake.

Cole jumped to her feet and glided over to Jack. She clamped her hand over his mouth before hissing a quiet 'shut up' in his face.

Suddenly, the door swung open. "What the hell was _that_?" Duncan shouted.

Cole huffed out an irritated breath. _What's got her so vexed?_ "Kyle hasn't slept in over a week. Could we _please_ use our _inside voices_?" she whisper yelled. _Oh. That makes sense._

I caught Duncan glancing down Cole's shirt before she stood up, giving his leg a good punch in the process. He rubbed his leg where she punched him and I rolled my eyes, glancing over at Kyle. _Poor guy... I'd be exhausted if I lived with these guys too._ Kyle had fallen back asleep, his arm hanging off the couch.

**(Duncan's POV)**

The big, brown squirrel pranced proudly toward the little, black squirrel. It chattered loudly with its chest puffed out. The black squirrel narrowed its eyes. Her tail flipped around in anger. A second later, she spun around and swung her tail at the big squirrel.

It flew out of the tree and into one of the dead bushes... _Oh man! It's a rose bush!_ The big, brown squirrel staggered out of the bush and limped back into the forest.

I was laughing my ass off when I saw Courtney glance in my direction. She looked so freaked out! That just made me laugh harder.

"What are you staring at Princess?" _Princess... hmmm... I like it! She's a mob princess! _She scoffed and turned toward the house. Before she even took the first step toward the door, a nasty screeching noise echoed through the forest.

Courtney and I stared at each other confused, then ran toward the door with Gwen and Trent right behind us. I threw the door open almost off its hinges-- Yeah. I'm that strong.-- and yelled "What the hell was _that_?"

Then I looked around and saw one of the weirdest things ever. Jack, the dude from earlier, was sprawled out on the floor in hysterics... Hey! I used a new word! Emi was sitting on him like it was completely normal. Nicole was on her knees with her hand clamped over his mouth. Her position gave me a clear view straight down her shirt... _Ouch!_ I rubbed the part of my leg that she punched with her free hand.

I caught Sam rolling his eyes before looking at the couch. I leaned to my left to get a better view of the DEAD GUY ON THE COUCH!?!?

**Hope you guys liked it! I tried to make it a little longer... Sorry I made Duncan seem kinda stupid. Ah well... Review Please! Happy New Year!**


	7. Vision of Terror

**A/N: I finally finished another chapter! My school just got done with class sign-ups. Next year is going to be an absolute nightmare. Anyway, I don't own TDI. R&R**

**Vision of Terror**

"_Shut up!" She screeched. I'd never heard a thing like it in my life. She sounded so torn. Her voice was a heart-wrenching combination of nails on a chalkboard, shattering plates, and that of a tortured animal. _

_I crept into the room, trying to get a better view of her. The room was dark and musty smelling. Mold was seeping through cracks in the ceiling and walls. Several drips slid through and connected to the ground with a light plip plopping sound. A particularly large drop fell next to her, narrowly missing her matted brown hair. It hit the ground with a sickening splat. _

_Cautiously, I continued into the door. The mold squished under my feet as I walked. The lighting was incredibly dim. Any other person would not have been able to see a thing. They would have never seen that the walls and the floor and the ceiling were just cracked cement. Under the black globs of mold was a strange brown-red fluid dried to every visible surface. I squinted, trying to identify the familiar stains. Then it finally hit me. BLOOD._

_Grimacing at my realization, I continued my assessment. The room was fairly small. 10 by 15 feet maybe. Chains dangled along the moldy walls and a medieval-looking torture table stood in a nearby corner. I scowled at the bloody scalpel and tweezers._

_Finally my eyes reached the source of the shrieking. Her matted brown hair certainly wasn't the worst thing about her appearance. She was curled into the fetal position in the furthest corner. Deep, bloody scrapes trailed down her arms, legs, and back. Her clothes were stained with the dark fluid. She didn't hear me approach. Her didn't even flinch when I reached out to touch her._

_But when my hand finally reached her shoulder, it went straight through. Then I heard footfalls echoing out side the room. The girl's head snapped up and she stared pointedly at the door. So she heard them too. I glanced behind me, my heart going into overdrive. Suddenly, the large, wooden, makeshift door disappeared and was replaced with the silhouette of a large, bulky man carrying an object I couldn't identify._

_My gaze returned to the girl's face, though I wish it wouldn't have. Her deep chocolate eyes were drowning in so much terror and agony it nearly knocked me off my feet. The scrapes and bruises and the swelling of her face only made her horrifying expression that much more unbearable. She was staring straight through me to the man's hand. I tried to see what he was holding, but everything began to fade. Before I knew it, everything was gone. _

I snapped back to reality and looked around. _This must be on of the mansion's bedrooms._ The walls were painted a dull gray and nearly everything else was black. _Must be Kyle's room..._ Sure enough, he and Sam walked in moments later. Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and handed me my notebook. I flipped to the first clean page while Kyle pulled up his computer chair and sat down. They waited patiently for me as I sketched everything I had seen: the the moldy walls, the chains, the table in the corner, the silhouette in the doorway, and finally, Courtney.

I passed them the notebook and they exchanged a weary look. They knew by now not to expect butterflies and kittens, but were still surprised by the carnage my latest vision had contained. I rolled onto my stomach and heaved a heavy sigh as I awaited their evaluations. After a few minutes of silence, Kyle broke it with the first question.

"Any idea how they're going to catch her?" I shook my head, trying to think of an explanation. She spent most of her spare time in her room nowadays.

"Did you hear anything?"

"Yeah," the corners of my mouth pulled down further as I remembered her screaming. "It sounds like she's having problems with the _voice_ again... I heard her yell _shut up_ before I entered the room. Other than that, I only heard the footsteps from that man and the mold squish under my feet."

"When are you going to tell the others?" They asked it at the same time, glancing at one another and back at me.

As soon as they got the question out, I pictured the others falling into a panic and all of Hell breaking loose. It would've been funny if the circumstances were different. Judging by the almost-smiles on the guys' faces, they were thinking the same thing.

"So I was thinking you should consult Courtney about her little friend before you tell anyone else..." The smile on Kyle's face was slowly growing. No doubt he was picturing his brother getting hurt during the chaos. With all the stunts Jack pulls on him, I can't say he didn't deserve it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I turned the corner by the staircase and slid down the railing into the living room. Everyone was settled down and talking casually when I got there. Gwen and Trent were talking with Scott -another resident of the mansion- about Trent's latest song. Jack was laughing with Duncan about God-knows-what while Courtney and Greg -the last guy in the house- drew pictures sprawled out on the floor.

"Hey, Greg. How long have you been up?" His dark hair was tossled with an I-just-rolled-out-of-bed look. He looked up from a rather macabre drawing and flashed me a relaxed smile, his green eyes light and calm.

"Around an hour, give or take. Jack's "laugher" woke me up." His air quotes made me grin. He and Kyle were the only guys around here that were even _relatively_ calm. On the other hand, they both had nasty cases of insomnia. Interesting.

"That makes two of us," Kyle said from behind me. I turned to see that Sam and Kyle had followed me downstairs to see how I handled things. Courtney looked up at the sounds of a new voices. I motioned for her to follow me, tilting my head in the direction of the stairs. Greg never had a problem with keeping a secret, so I told the guys to fill him in while I talked to Courtney. Then it was back up the stairs and into Kyle's room. The three boys went into what I assumed was Greg's room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I sat lightly on Kyle's black sheets and waited for Courtney to get situated, trying to find a way to start the conversation all the while. Finally she decided to just sit across from me on the bed. As for the conversation starter, I decided to wing it. She should know me enough by now to know how spontaneous I am.

"_So_, heard anything unusual lately?" Wow that sounded stupid. Ah well.

"I did actually." My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Since when did she spill her guts this fast? Usually it takes over an hour of prying to get her to crack. "Apparently Jack likes to put peanut butter and frosting on his spaghetti." Well _that_ wasn't what I had in mind. Who mixes frosting and pizza sauce together anyway? Hmm... I should try it.

It wasn't until I saw the shadow of a smile on her face that I realized she had successfully distracted me. I spent a minute trying to remember where the conversation _should_ be going. Pizza, weird stuff, hearing weird stuff, hearing, VOICES! A smirk spread across my face. If it's a game she wants, it a game she'll get.

"Frosting pizza, huh? What kind does Duncan like?" I cocked my head to the side and put on my sweetest smile, daring her to make a comeback.

"I don't know. I wasn't paying attention." She suddenly found her nails to be very interesting. SHE SO LIKES HIM! I copied her, studying my nails as well. I swear she would be squirming like a fish out of water if she wasn't so stubborn.

Covering my laugh with a cough, I continued, "Then how do you know what Jack likes on _his_ pizza? You _are_ the one that brought it up." I'll beat around the bush if I have to. She's not the only stubborn one. Just then, I heard light footfalls going down the hallway... Two sets, so it's not the guys. They're too light anyway. Almost as if someone's trying to sneak up on us. "You don't like him do you?"

The look on her face was priceless. The perfect blend of shell-shocked repulsion and disgust. Before I could control myself, I was doubled over in laughter. Suddenly, the door burst open revealing a surprised and confused Duncan and Jack. Their puzzled expressions only made me laugh harder, which led to my falling off the bed and landing on the floor with a hard _thunk!_ That, in turn, made them laugh. As expected, Jack's hyena laugh attracted everyone else's attention and woke Emi from her nap. Darn it.

Once everyone had gathered in the bedroom, I figured it was pointless to try talking to Courtney. Instead, I decided to go on a walk in the woods and think up some good back up plans. She may have won this battle, but the war is far from over. Whomever is the most stubborn will win, and obviously that will be me. If not, she is so screwed.

**Hope you liked it. I went from kinda depressing to lighter to dreary again, so that was sorta weird. Let me know what you think. Longest chapter so far, too. :)**


	8. Important

**Hey guys. I know you're probably _kinda_ PO'ed that I haven't updated since January or February (I can't remember anymore), so I'll be blunt.**

**After season 1 of TDI ended the whole thing got less and less interesting. Needless to say, I've lost most of if not all of my motivation for this story. I've come up with three options:**

1. Delete the story completely.

2. Put it on long-term hiatus in case I decide to continue it (which isn't very likely at the moment).

3. Tell whomever where I'm going with it and let them take it from here (assuming someone's interested).

**It's up to you, so pm me if you have a preference or suggestion. **


	9. Also Important

Okay, guys. I've been PMing back and forth with a couple of people and I'm gonna pass the story on to marlynnknowsbest101. I'd like to have this all worked out by Monday. PM me or Marlynnknowsbest101 if you have any questions.

Thanks,  
Back Away Slowly


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